Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti: We are establishing the Institute of crimes committed during the war (media)
• The U.S. expected to allow Kosovo in military exercises with NATO forces (media)
• Former KIA head sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for the "Gülenists" case (Koha)
• Kearns calls the policies of the USA and the EU for Kosovo hasty (RTK)
• North Mitrovica close to membership in Kosovo Municipalities Association (media)
• Another Serb arrested for attacking journalists in the north, released (media)

Serbian Language Media: 

• New round of dialogue starts in Brussels, Vucic to meet Lajcak this evening (RTS)
• Vucevic: NATO important stakeholder, crucial for security of all people in Kosovo (TV Pink, Kosovo Online)
• Messages from Washington about significance of de-escalation (Voice of America)
• Daka: Kosovo does not have Law on referendum, elections in north are not a matter for CEC (Kosovo Online)

Opinion:

• Rama-Kurti Feud Reveals Deeper Rift Between Albania and Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

   

Albanian Language Media  

  Kurti: We are establishing the Institute of crimes committed during the war (media)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has commemorated the 150 civilians killed on July 19, 1998, in Rahovec. He said that the crimes committed by the Serbian authorities cannot disappear and be forgotten. He announced that they are establishing the institute of crimes committed during the last war in Kosovo.

"In an effort to hide the crimes, the Serbian forces opened two large pits in Rahovec and threw some of the Albanians killed during this massacre into them. But the crimes committed by the ordering and executing authorities of Serbia cannot disappear or be forgotten.

For the documentation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal actions of Serbia, we are establishing the Institute of crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. A pledge of ours to our memory as a people and to our request for justice", Kurti wrote, among other things.

The U.S. expected to allow Kosovo in military exercises with NATO forces (media)

The U.S. Senate's annual defence bill will add Kosovo to the list of Eastern European countries eligible for U.S. military training amid heightened tensions in the Balkans.

This bill allows Kosovo to engage in U.S.-led military exercises to increase interaction with NATO forces. Doing so would allow Kosovo to receive reimbursements for training through multilateral military exercises with NATO members and those of the NATO Partnership for Peace, a list of countries that includes Serbia.

As Defense News reports, this comes as an effort to deepen Kosovo-U.S. military ties as the Biden administration and numerous lawmakers seek to soften Kosovo's deteriorating relations with Serbia amid rising tensions.

Former KIA head sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for the "Gülenists" case (Koha)

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced Driton Gashi, former head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, to four years and eight months in prison for the case known as the "Gülenists". Valon Krasniqi, former director of the Department for Citizenship, Asylum and Migration in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Rrahman Sylejmani, former director of the Directorate for Migration and Foreigners within the Border Police, have been acquitted since it has not been proven that they have committed the criminal offences they are charged with.

Against the former head of the KIA, Driton Gashi, the Court has also imposed an additional punishment, the prohibition of exercising functions in the public administration for a period of 4 years after serving the prison sentence.

According to the indictment filed by the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo on February 24, 2021, Gashi, in the period March 23, 2019 - March 29, 2018, is accused of having deported six citizens of Turkey who had residence permits and the right to work in Kosovo as officials.

According to the indictment, Gashi abused his official position by not fulfilling his duties according to his competence by recommending the revocation of residence permits and the non-granting of a permit for one of the victims, "for the reason that they might pose a risk to national security, a fact that has not been proven at all in procedure implemented on the basis of the law".

The prosecution has claimed that Gashi did not notify the president or the prime minister about this procedure, as required by the Law on the KIA, nor the chief state prosecutor, exceeding his powers.

Kearns calls the policies of the USA and the EU for Kosovo hasty (RTK)

In an intensive interview with RTK, the British MP, Alicia Kearns said that she has received threats, after her statement that the Serbian Orthodox Church is being supplied with weapons from Serbia, through auto-ambulances. She said that she will not be silent about the threats that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucicmade to her for launching investigations against her. Kearns calls the policies of the USA and the EU hasty for Kosovo.

“It is absolutely vital that the Kosovo government liaises and works with KFOR, who are in Kosovo, to prevent conflict and save lives. Attacks on KFOR soldiers are unacceptable. What we need to see in the north of Kosovo is that everyone, Serbs or Albanians, feel completely comfortable and free to live in this part of Kosovo and of course they should feel that they are represented. So, one of my questions to Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in our last meeting, was what you are doing to support the Kosovo Serbs, and I also asked the British government what they are doing to support the Kosovo Serbs, so they can also live peacefully,” Kearns said.

“I do not support the actions of the EU or the US in recent weeks. As I said, they are disproportionate and unbalanced and therefore not conducive to peace. And honestly, the problems surrounding the elections in the north of Kosovo are seen as Serbia's interference in the internal elections of Kosovo. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, should not have called the local Serbs to boycott the elections. I am satisfied that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has pledged to hold local elections in the north. It is clear to me that he is also open to fulfilling all the commitments asked of him by the EU. What we need now is to make sure that things go forward without foreign interference, but the EU and the U.S. need to look carefully and make sure that they are really balanced because that's not what I've seen so far.”

Asked about accusing the Serbian Orthodox Church of helping to smuggle weapons into the North and reaction of the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic Kearns said ‘I think it speaks enormously when the president of a country feels the need to threaten a foreign politician for sharing information with that country's intelligence services, who have shared that information with their military. I will not be silenced by someone who tries to intimidate me. And I think it says it all that he feels the need to threaten foreign politicians.’

“I have received other threats beyond President Vucic's comments that he will open investigations against me. I find it interesting that he has accused me of receiving money from the so-called Muslim or Albanian lobby, as his supporters seem to call it. I don't think he's aware that British politicians, do not take money from people, that's not how we behave. The use of language by many of his supporters, that I am a Muslim lobbyist, I think shows that they have hatred in their hearts, that they still want to attract more ethnic divisions within Kosovo and throughout the Balkans. All we want to do is reduce tensions,” Kearns said among other things.

North Mitrovica close to membership in Kosovo Municipalities Association (media)

Kosovo’s Ministry of Local Government Administration has approved the request of the North Mitrovica Municipality to join the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo. Now, the decision remains in the hands of the bodies of Association of Municipalities of Kosovo.

"The Ministry of Local Government Administration, after examining the content of the municipal act as above, assesses that the municipal act is in accordance with the provisions of the legislation in force", the document states.

Another Serb arrested for attacking journalists in the north, released (media)

U. V. who was arrested a month ago in Leposavic on suspicion of attacking journalists, will be released on bail today, his lawyer Nebojsha Vlajic said.

"Yes, U.V. will be released on bail today. We are currently sorting out the documents related to this, and he will be released during the day", said Vlajic.

He was arrested on June 19 in Leposaviq, for attacking journalists on June 16. Two other Serbs accused by the Kosovar authorities of attacks on media teams were also released on bail.

   

Serbian Language Media

  New round of dialogue starts in Brussels, Vucic to meet Lajcak this evening (RTS)

RTS reports today that a bilateral meeting of Belgrade’s chief negotiator Petar Petkovic and EU special envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak started this morning at around 9.40. Lajcak will meet afterwards with Pristina chief negotiator Besnik Bislimi. The EU hopes the trilateral meeting will take place then, but that it depends upon parties involved, they said.

Meanwhile, in Brussels Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet late in the afternoon NATO SG Jens Stoltenberg and the two officials will address the media after the meeting.

Vucic asked for a meeting with Stoltenberg last week in order to discuss with him the situation in Kosovo.

During his stay in Brussels, Vucic will also meet Lajcak.  

Vucevic: NATO important stakeholder, crucial for security of all people in Kosovo (TV Pink, Kosovo Online)

Serbian Defence Minister Milos Vucevic said Serbian Army is far much stronger than what Pristina calls Kosovo army, but that security risks are getting higher because they are getting armament, which changes relations of powers on the ground, Kosovo Online portal reports citing TV Pink.

“NATO is an important stakeholder, crucial to the security of all people in Kosovo and Metohija. President Vucic requested the meeting with (NATO SG) Jens Stoltenberg. The two of them met 14 times until now. This is the opportunity for the Serbian perspective to be heard. Kurti does not back off, he only finds new technologies and methodologies to be more successful. It is in our state's interest to have as good relations as possible with NATO, we are a neutral state. This is a good opportunity to present our concerns over the armament of Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija”, Vucevic said.

He also said KFOR must not allow escalation that was seen over the previous weeks.

“Kurti’s visit to British Parliament and lobbyists for Kosovo independents demonstrated enough how complex the situation for Serbia is (…)”, Vucevic said. He added Kosovo special police units should not be on the streets in northern Kosovo at all.

Commenting on Pristina’s announcements that police presence in and around municipal facilities in the north was reduced by 25 percent, Vucevic asked what happens with the rest of the Kosovo special police units present there, stressing that their bases in the north have been built on violence and in contradiction with the law. 

Messages from Washington about significance of de-escalation (Voice of America) 

“Confirmation of de-escalation is not in the words - or terms of the agreement, but in the actions of the Kosovo authorities and the Kosovo Serb community”, Thomas Countryman, a retired American diplomat with 35-year experience told Voice of America yesterday.

Ambassador Countryman, who served in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade in the mid-eighties of the last century, said it is necessary for the Kosovo Government to facilitate the de-escalation of current tensions - which affect the dialogue on the normalisation of relations between the two sides.

“If not by a complete withdrawal, then at least by limiting access to members of the Kosovo special police and moves that indicate an understanding of the need for political reconciliation and the establishment of legitimate leadership in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo”, Countryman told VoA.

This was a response an American diplomat made when asked about the possible indications of the beginning in defusing tensions in Belgrade-Pristina relations – following Bratislava talks between Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, and EU Special Envoy for Belgrade-Pristina talks Miroslav Lajcak.

Countryman also underlined that he does not agree with the claims, which can be heard from the ranks of the Kosovo authorities and part of the public, that the international community applies a kind of softer approach towards Serbia, in order to tear it away from the influence of Russia.

“Brussels and Washington are trying to solve open issues in that region. Such a thing implies the application of quiet, sometimes very loud and unequivocal diplomacy. I understand such a perception of reality, but those who do it do not understand the reasons that could motivate such an approach”, Countryman said.

VoA pointed out that Countryman spoke to Voice of America on the side-lines of the debate in Washington, which the non-governmental Atlantic Council organised according to Chatham House Rule with members of the civil sector and journalists from the north of Kosovo on the possibilities of de-escalation.

Milica Andric Rakic, from Mitrovica North-based non-governmental organisation New Social Initiative said much more needs to be done.

“The fact that it has been agreed in substance does not solve the matter in the long run. From September, the crisis could return - because the agreement on, as they labelled it, the first steps towards de-escalation, is really not de-escalation. It is the transfer of police officers from municipalities, where they were less visible, to other places within those municipalities where their presence will be more noticeable - thus potentially creating a new neuralgic point where tensions between the police and citizens could arise. The situation could be partially defused - but not essentially”, she told VoA.

She is also convinced that the repeated elections in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo, with the guaranteed participation of the Serbian community, will not solve anything if the members of the Kosovo police do not completely withdraw from the north of Kosovo - because they cause concern and discomfort for citizens of Serbian nationality.

“Citizens will not go to the polls and give greater legitimacy to the elections, even if there are Serbian candidates. It is a step that is needed to prevent potentially bad decisions that could further raise tensions, such as the opening of the bridge that connects South and North Mitrovica, which is something the Serb community is not ready for due to fear for its own safety”, she added.

Sanja Sovrlić, a journalist for Belgrade-based N1 TV, originating from Leposavic, opined that, apart from specific moves by the Kosovo authorities, changes in the way official Belgrade communicates about the problems of Kosovo Serbs would also contribute to de-escalation.

“We have incendiary messages, or those that do not speak in the right way about the problems that citizens have. Belgrade reacted late to the problem of special units in the north of Kosovo. Last year, the barricades were removed, and the request for their removal was not fulfilled. It should hear the voices of Serbs from Kosovo more, not only those coming from the Serbian List, but also all others - so that it could highlight them in the negotiations. Unfortunately, the Kosovo Serbs are not a political factor in the dialogue, and I am not sure how well their voice is being heard”, Sovrlic told VoA.

“Pristina and Belgrade should listen to the international community - which has been seriously dealing with the relations between the two sides for decades”, Isak Vorgucic - executive director of Radio-television KIM, based in Caglavica said.

“It’s all quite clear and feasible, only if there was a will on both sides to implement it. The goal is the normalisation of relations, not the recognition of Kosovo by Belgrade, or anything similar. The goal is to normalise relations so that the people living in Kosovo can function normally, travel through Serbia - and so that Kosovo Serbs can live and work normally. And for them to foster equal ties with Pristina and Belgrade”, he said.

Daka: Kosovo does not have Law on referendum, elections in north are not a matter for CEC (Kosovo Online)

Former head of Kosovo Central Election Commission (CEC), Valdete Daka said yesterday that although Kosovo reached an agreement in Brussels on holding of snap elections in four northern municipalities and organising a referendum in which 20 percent of voters would vote for the removal of the current mayors, there is no legal basis for such a thing, Kosovo Online portal reports. 

Daka said that in order to implement the referendum, the government must pass a new law.

“As a country, we do not have a Law on referendum. The CEC cannot do anything. The government should pass a new law, the Constitution stipulates who can make a legislative initiative. However, the CEC cannot do anything on its own because it is the institution that organises the elections, takes care of their smooth running and that’s it”, Daka is quoted as saying.

She added that the CEC can only harmonise by-laws with the basic law, and the basic law is missing.

“How they will implement what they agreed with the EU is a matter for the government, not the CEC”, she added.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti agreed that early elections are needed in the north, but not by calling for the resignation of current mayors.

   

Opinion 

  Rama-Kurti Feud Reveals Deeper Rift Between Albania and Kosovo (Balkan Insight)

By Mentor Beqa

The quarrel between the two leaders reflects a much deeper dispute over who ‘represents Albanians’ in the Balkans – and their disunity doesn’t benefit either country – or the interests of peace in the region.

Winston Churchill’s observation that “the Balkans produces more history that it consumes” continues to echo through the region. It is challenging to find another case in world history where a prime minister from one country has insisted on paying an unsolicited official visit to another country, only to be refused by the prime minister of that host country.

Read more at: rb.gy/fxlcd